Grand Theft Auto (series)

Grand Theft car is associate degree action-adventure computer game series created by David Jones and electro-acoustic transducer Dailly; the later titles of that were created by brothers Dan and guided missile Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. it's primarily developed by Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), and printed by Rockstar Games. The name of the series references the term utilized in the USA for automobile larceny.

Most games within the series square measure set in fictional locales modelled on yankee cities, typically either Liberty town, Vice City, or San Andreas, that square measure stand-ins for brand spanking new York town, Miami, and also the state of Calif., severally. the primary game encompassed 3 fictional cities, whereas succeeding titles tend to stress one town and its far areas. Gameplay focuses on associate degree open world wherever the player will opt for missions to progress associate degree overall story, in addition as partaking in aspect activities, all consisting of action-adventure, driving, third-person shooting, occasional role-playing, stealth, and sport components. The series conjointly has components of the sooner beat 'em up games from the 16-bit era. The series has gained tilt for its adult nature and violent themes. The series focuses around many various protagonists World Health Organization conceive to rise through the ranks of the criminal underworld, though their motives for doing therefore vary in every game. The antagonists square measure unremarkably characters World Health Organization have betrayed the protagonist or his organisation, or characters World Health Organization have the foremost impact clogging the protagonist's progress. The series contains irony and humour.

British computer game developer DMA style began the series in 1997. as of 2014, it's eleven complete games and 4 growth packs. The third written account title, grand larceny car III, was wide acclaimed, because it brought the series to a 3D setting and additional immersive expertise, and is taken into account a landmark title that has after influenced several alternative open world action games and crystal rectifier to the label "Grand larceny car clone" on similar games. succeeding titles would follow and ride the idea established in grand larceny car III. Film and music veterans have voiced characters, together with Ray Liotta, Burt painter, Dennis Hopper, Samuel L. Jackson, Debbie Harry, Phil Collins, Axl Rose, and Peter Fonda. The series has been critically acclaimed and commercially productive, having oversubscribed over 220 million units, as of September 2015. The Telegraph hierarchal the GTA series among Britain's most productive exports.

The grand larceny car series is split into separate fictional universes, named once the first level of graphics capability utilized in every era. the first grand larceny car, its expansions and its sequel square measure thought of the "2D universe". grand larceny car III and its sequels square measure thought of the "3D universe". grand larceny car IV, its expansions and grand larceny car V square measure thought of the "HD universe". every universe is taken into account separate with solely brands, place names and background characters shared between them.

Grand Theft car, the primary game within the series, was free for Microsoft Windows and disk operating system in October 1997, ported to the PlayStation in 1998 and also the Game Boy change 1999. grand larceny car a pair of was free in 1999 for Microsoft Windows, later receiving ports on the PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color.

The PlayStation a pair of conjointly featured 3 instalments of the most series, all of that are re-released on many platforms; a deal between Take-Two Interactive and Sony laptop amusement resulted in their regular exclusivity on the PlayStation a pair of, before receiving ports to Microsoft Windows and also the Xbox. The 2001 title grand larceny car III touched removed from the 2-dimension (2D) graphics utilized in the primary two games to three-dimension (3D) laptop graphics; the sport options two-dimensional figure characters on pre-rendered backgrounds. grand larceny Auto: Vice town was printed in 2002, and was the primary to feature a speaking protagonist, voiced by Ray Liotta. grand larceny Auto: San Andreas, free in 2004, introduced varied new components, together with character customisation and an oversized map encompassing 3 cities and encompassing geographic region.

Two main instalments were printed for the PlayStation three and Xbox 360. The 2008 title grand larceny car IV centered on realism and detail, removing varied customisation options, whereas adding a web multiplayer mode. grand larceny car V, printed in 2013, featured 3 playable protagonists. it absolutely was free to huge monetary success, breaking multiple records. it absolutely was later re-released with varied enhancements, in 2014 for the PlayStation four and Xbox One, and in 2015 for Microsoft Windows.

Other games
Grand Theft car has spawned varied extra games and growth packs. In 1999, the first game received 2 growth packs: grand larceny Auto: London, 1969 and grand larceny Auto: London, 1961. grand larceny car Advance, free in 2004 for the sport Boy Advance, featured a top-down perspective. 3 games were free for the PlayStation moveable. The 2005 game grand larceny car: Liberty town Stories may be a prequel to grand larceny Auto III, whereas the a pair of006 game grand larceny Auto: Vice town Stories may be a prequel to Vice City; each games were later ported to the PlayStation 2. In 2009, grand larceny Auto: Chinatown Wars was free for the Nintendo DS, and later ported to the PlayStation moveable. In 2009, The Lost and Damned and also the Ballad of Gay Tony were free for the Xbox 360 as growth packs to grand larceny car IV; a "strategic alliance" between Rockstar and Microsoft resulted within the regular exclusivity. They were later free on Xbox 360, PlayStation three associate degreed Microsoft Windows as a part of an growth pack, titled grand larceny Auto: Episodes from Liberty town.

Numerous titles within the series have received ports to mobile devices. Chinatown Wars was free for iOS in 2010 and for automaton and hearth OS in 2014. for his or her tenth anniversaries, grand larceny car III and Vice town were each re-released for iOS and automaton in 2011 and 2012, severally. In 2013, San Andreas was ported to iOS, automaton & Windows Phone and RT ; the mobile port was later re-released for Xbox 360 in 2014, the year of the game's tenth day.

Related media
The series has been expanded  into varied alternative formats. Jacked: The Outlaw Story of grand larceny car, a book written by David Kushner chronicling the event of the series, was printed in 2012. In March 2015, BBC 2 declared The Gamechangers, a 90-minute motion picture supported the creation of grand larceny car, Directed by Owen Harris and written by James Wood, the drama can star Daniel Radcliffe as Rockstar president guided missile Houser and Bill Sir Joseph Paxton as disbarred professional Jack Thompson. In could 2015, Rockstar filed a proceedings against the BBC for trademark infringement, stating that that they had no involvement with the event of the film and had unsuccessfully tried to contact the BBC to resolve the matter. It initial airy on fifteen September 2015 on BBC 2.

In 2006, McFarland & Company printed The that means and Culture of grand larceny car (ISBN 978-0-7864-2822-9). Compiled by Nate Garrelts, the 264-page book may be a assortment of essays concerning the grand larceny car series, to assist audiences higher perceive the games and to create a degree regarding due diligence of game criticism. The book is split into 2 halfs: the primary part discusses the controversies encompassing the series, whereas the half takes a theoretical explore the games absent of the tilt.

Common elements
Gameplay
Each game during this series permits players to require on the role of a criminal within the massive town, usually a personal World Health Organization plans to rise through the ranks of union crime through the course of the sport. The player is given varied missions by kingpins and major idols within the town underworld that should be completed to progress through the plot line. Assassinations and alternative violent crimes square measure featured frequently. sometimes taxi driving, firefighting, street sport, bus driving, or learning to fly helicopters and fixed-wing craft are concerned within the game.

In later titles, notably those free once grand larceny car a pair of, the player is given a additional developed plot line within which they're forced to beat associate degree unfortunate event (e.g., being betrayed and left for dead), that is motivation for the character to advance up the criminal ladder and ultimately results in the triumph of the character by the tip of the plot line.

The grand larceny car series belongs to a genre of free-roaming role-playing video games referred to as open world games, and grants an oversized quantity of freedom to the player. ancient action games square measure structured as one track series of levels with linear gameplay, however in grand larceny car the player will confirm the missions that they need to undertake, and their relationship with varied characters square measure modified supported these decisions. Influenced by the sooner game Turbo life, the cities of the games may be roamed freely at any purpose within the game, and square measure samples of open world computer game environments which supply accessible buildings with minor missions additionally to the most plot line. There square measure exceptions: missions follow a linear, overarching plot, and a few town areas should be unsecured over the course of the sport.

Grand Theft car III and succeeding games have additional voice acting and radio stations, that simulate driving to music with disc jockeys, radio personalities, commercials, talk radio, pop music, and yankee culture.

The use of vehicles in associate degree explorable urban atmosphere provides a basic simulation of a operating town, complete with pedestrians World Health Organization usually conform traffic signals. additional details square measure wont to flesh out associate degree open-ended atmosphere that has been utilized in many alternative games, like The Simpsons: Hit & Run, that has less stress on crime or violence, and toy town cloak-and-dagger, that reverses the roles of policeman and criminal, though the player goes cloak-and-dagger in gangs for a little of the sport.

Setting
The grand larceny car series is about in an exceedingly fictional version of the planet, in an exceedingly variety of various time periods. the first grand larceny car introduced 3 main cities: Liberty town, primarily based upon ny town, Vice City, primarily based upon Miami, and San Andreas, based {mostly|primarily based} upon mostly elements of Calif.. within the initial grand larceny car game, San Andreas was supported metropolis and elements of city. growth packs later set the sport in London.

The second entry within the franchise, grand larceny car a pair of, set the sport within the future in an exceedingly scene named "Anywhere City".

Subsequent games within the series have re-imagined and expanded  upon the first locales. grand larceny car III is about in an exceedingly totally different rendition of Liberty town solely loosely supported ny town. A revised Vice town and San Andreas square measure portrayed in Vice town and San Andreas, severally, the latter of that takes the shape of a whole state, rather than one town. The state of San Andreas relies on the states of Calif. and Battle Born State, and consists of 3 major cities: Los port (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco), and Las Venturas (Las Vegas). encompassing cities and areas of desert, water, woodland, and rural area lie between the 3 cities. The GTA III rendition of Liberty town is additionally in brief featured throughout one mission.

Liberty town Stories and Vice town Stories, originally free on the PlayStation moveable hand-held console and later reissued for alternative consoles, square measure set within the previous depictions of their individual eponymic cities, however in numerous decades. The maps for the 2 cities stay constant, with some variations in terms of buildings and earth science to mirror the various time periods.

Grand Theft car IV and its succeeding growth packs The Lost and Damned and also the Ballad of Gay Tony square measure set in an exceedingly third revision of Liberty town, set in 2008, that may be a nearer analog to ny town and its boroughs than the GTA III version. grand larceny Auto: Chinatown Wars is additionally set during this version of Liberty town, though the Alderney portion of the map isn't gift.

Grand Theft car V, free in 2013, is about in an exceedingly revised depiction of San Andreas that options Los port (Los Angeles) to the south and also the rural Blaine County to the north. It includes revised landmarks like the "Vinewood" sign (instead of Hollywood), Rockford Hills (instead of Beverly Hills), Del Perro Pier (instead of Santa Monica Pier), Los port International airdrome (LSIA) (instead of LAX), Los port Golf Club (instead of la club.), and Galileo Galilei Observatory (instead of film producer Observatory). the sport conjointly options the city of Ludendorff within the fictional state of North Yankton. la was extensively researched for grand larceny car V. The team organized field analysis journeys with tour guides and bailiwick historians and captured around 250,000 photos and hours of video footage throughout these visits Since the discharge of the sport, many in-game buildings are known as being supported real-world landmarks. The New Yorker's guided missile Sweet notes that, with sales of game reaching 13 million copies, "there are additional individuals living within the unreal state of Los port than within the real town on that it absolutely was modelled."

In each grand larceny car: San Andreas and grand larceny Auto V, Los port and also the state of San Andreas square measure portrayed as being on associate degree island associate degree undetermined distance from the USA dry land. In each games it's potential to compass the state by boat. Similarly, the versions of Liberty town and Alderney in grand larceny car IV and growth packs are utterly settled on islands, as is Vice town. The GTA III rendition of Liberty town but, whereas largely island, is connected to dry land on its Northwest corner (a region the player cannot navigate).

Only the growth packs for the first grand larceny car, London, 1969 and London, 1961, set in London, have featured a location outside the u.  s. and used a real-life location.

Controversies
Former professional Jack Thompson has been concerned in an exceedingly variety of makes an attempt to induce families of murder victims to carry the grand larceny car series in charge of the death of their worshipped ones. as a result of his conduct during this and connected cases, Thompson was disbarred in 2008 and was punished over $100,000 by the American state Bar Association.

On twenty October 2003, the families of Aaron Hamel and Kimberly theologiser, 2 children shot by teens William and tantalize Buckner (who in statements to investigators claimed their actions were galvanized by grand larceny car III) filed a US$246 million proceedings against publishers Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive computer code, merchandiser Wal-Mart, and PlayStation a pair of manufacturer Sony laptop amusement America. Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two, filed for dismissal of the proceedings, stating in U.S. District Court on twenty nine October 2003 that the "ideas and ideas in addition because the 'purported psychological effects' on the Buckners square measure protected by the primary Amendment's free-speech clause". The professional of the victims, Jack Thompson, denied that, however failing in his conceive to move the proceedings into a state court and below Tennessee's client protection act. 2 days later, the plaintiffs filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, and also the case was closed.

In February 2005, a proceedings was brought upon the manufacturers and distributors of the grand larceny car series claiming the games caused a youngster to shoot and kill 3 members of the Alabama law enforcement agency. The shooting passed in Gregorian calendar month 2003 once Devin Moore, seventeen years recent at the time, was taken sure questioning by police in Fayette, Alabama concerning a taken vehicle. Moore then grabbed a handgun from one of the law enforcement officials and shot and killed him along side another officer and dispatcher before fleeing in a squad car. one among Moore's attorneys, Jack Thompson, claimed it absolutely was grand larceny Auto's graphic nature—with his constant taking part in time—that caused Moore to commit the murders, and Moore's family agrees. Damages were being sought-after from branches of GameStop and Wal-Mart in opaque gem, Alabama, the stores from that grand larceny car III and grand larceny Auto: Vice town, severally, were purchased and conjointly from the games' publisher Take-Two Interactive, and also the PlayStation a pair of manufacturer Sony laptop amusement. On twenty nine March 2006 the case was unemployed and permission to charm was denied.

In could 2005, Thompson appeared via satellite on the astronaut gesture program on CNN's Headline News. Thompson mentioned Devin Moore and same concerning grand larceny car III and grand larceny Auto: Vice town "There's little question in my mind  that except for Devin Moore's coaching on this cop killing machine, he wouldn't are able to kill 3 cops in Fayette, Alabama World Health Organization square measure currently dead and within the ground. we tend to square measure suing Take-Two, Sony, Wal-Mart, and GameStop for having trained Devin Moore to kill. He had no history of violence. No record."

In September 2006, Thompson brought another proceedings, claiming that promoter Posey contend the sport obsessionally before murdering his father Delbert Paul Posey, stepparent Tryone Schmid, and half sister Marilea Schmid on a ranch in urban center, New Mexico. The suit was filed on behalf of the victims' families. throughout the criminal trial, Posey's defence team argued he was abused by his father, and affected by his stepparent. Posey was conjointly taking SSRI at the time of the killings. The suit alleged that were it not for his psychoneurotic taking part in of grand larceny Auto: Vice town, the murders wouldn't have taken place. Named within the suit were promoter Posey, Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive, and Sony. The suit asked for US$600 million in damages.

Several celebrities have sued Rockstar Games and/or Take-Two Interactive for violating their belongings or temperament rights, together with hip-hop creator Daz Dillinger, Karenic Gravano of Mob Wives, and player Lindsay divinity.

According to The Guinness World Records 2008 and 2009 Gamer's Edition, it's the foremost arguable computer game series in history, with over four,000 articles printed regarding it, that embody accusations of glamorising violence, corrupting gamers, and association to real world crimes.

Grand Theft Auto
The game was arguable from the terribly initial incarnation of the series. grand larceny car was condemned in UK, Germany, and France as a result of its "extreme violence", and Brazil illegal it outright. publiciser scoop Clifford planted sensational stories in tabloids so as to assist sell the primary game.

Grand Theft car III: general violence and crime
The controversies flaring up once more with grand larceny car III, since the 3D graphics created the violence additional realistic, and players might pay the services of prostitutes to recover their health, and if they needed, killing them to induce a number of their a refund.

There is conjointly criticism from the main target on bootleg activities as compared with ancient "heroic" roles that alternative games provide. the most character will commit a large kind of crimes and violent acts whereas managing solely temporary consequences, together with the killing of policemen and military personnel.

Vice City: ethnic discrimination
The sixth game within the series, grand larceny Auto: Vice town, conjointly came below criticism. One mission specifically, within which the player should instigate a gang war between Haitian and Cuban gangs, has been arguable. Haitian and Cuban anti-defamation teams criticised the sport.

Jean-Robert Lafortune of the Haitian yankee Grassroots Coalition is quoted as speech that "The game should not be designed to destroy human life, it should not be designed to destroy associate degree group," for this and similar eventualities, together with lines within the game's script like "kill the Haitian dickheads" same by character "Diaz" throughout associate degree row between the player and a Haitian gang. once the threat of a proceedings by the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, Rockstar removed the word "Haitians" from this phrase within the game's subtitles.

San Andreas: sex minigame
San Andreas was criticised ab initio as a result of its "gangster" components, that embody medicine, whoredom, and murder; however later as a result of the invention of disabled interactive sex scenes, nicknamed Hot low, that was a sexual minigame that was cut from the sport, however remained within the game code, that was discovered in each the console and Windows versions of the sport. Dubbed the "Hot low mod", the minigame allowed players to own sex with their in-game girlfriends.

After the discharge of grand larceny Auto: San Andreas, modders managed to search out the unused code within the game associate degreed free unofficial patches for the Windows and Xbox (with a modchip) versions in addition as a PlayStation a pair of version through the utilization of an replication code facultative the player to interact in these sexual mini-games (dubbed "Hot Coffee" in relevancy a locution for sex utilized in the game). These mini-games were left part intact within the game's code. This prompted application of associate degree AO (Adults Only) ESRB rating to the version of the sport containing the leftover code. Take-Two Interactive was forced to re-release the sport so as to revive the M (Mature) rating. a category action proceedings against Take-Two was conjointly filed as a results of the "Hot Coffee" code.

Grand Theft car IV: drunk driving[edit]
One of the controversies involved this game was Mothers Against Drunk Driving's (MADD) criticism of the power to drink and drive as a brand new feature. MADD had even requested ESRB to vary the rating of the sport from "M" for ages seventeen and up to "AO", for adults solely, as a result of they felt it absolutely was inappropriate for kids, even at the age of seventeen, to expertise drunk driving in such a fashion. within the final game, drunk driving may be a playable event, however it's against the law that mechanically generates a needed rating and main playable character Niko Bellic loudly (and drunkenly) proclaims that it's a "bad idea" which he "should recognize better".

Notably, it's not possible to drive whereas drunk within the GTA IV expansions, The Lost and Damned and also the Ballad of Gay Tony. These were free once the criticism. It is, however, potential to drive drunk once more within the successor, grand larceny car V.

The Lost and Damned: full-frontal nudity
The Lost and Damned growth pack was condemned by U.S. oldsters cluster logic Media World Health Organization issued a public warning against the pack's content as a result of a full-frontal status scene throughout one among the cutscenes. They claimed the sport was "more arguable than its predecessors" as a result of it featured "full frontal male nudity".

Chinatown Wars: drug dealing minigame
There has been some tilt over a drug dealing minigame along side comments that some Nintendo games square measure being geared toward youngsters (despite the very fact that the sport was rated Mature). The drug dealing mini-game permits players to huckster six sorts of medicine round the town, however the profit the player makes depends on market conditions, which is able to be supported the realm within which they deal, and also the level of standard service this space receives from them.
A man is strapped to associate degree upset chair with a fabric concealing his face. Player character Trevor stands over him with a canister, getting ready to pour water on his face. A text prompt within the higher left-hand corner reads "Hold  to pour water."
The mission "By the Book" involves a sequence whereby players use torture techniques together with waterboarding to interrogate a person.
Main article: Controversies encompassing grand larceny car V
A section within the latest instalment caused tilt for scenes containing player initiated torture. The mission "By the Book" options graphic depictions of kneecapping, electrocution, dental extraction and waterboarding, and also the player is needed to perform the acts so as to progress within the game.

UK-based charity Freedom from Torture in public condemned the utilization of torture scenes in grand larceny car V. The organization World Health Organization work to rehabilitate survivors of torture, joined alternative human rights charities World Health Organization were indignant at a torture scene within the game within which the players ought to pull teeth associate degreed electrocute an unarmed man so as to extract data. The charity's chief operating officer Keith Best stated: “Rockstar North has crossed a line by effectively forcing individuals to require on the role of a oppressor and perform a series of unspeakable acts if they need to attain success within the game."

The game has conjointly been defendant of discrimination. The la Times thought of the game's sarcastic portrayals of girls unimaginative, and further that violent and sexist themes hurt the sport expertise. Edge noted that whereas "every feminine within the game exists entirely to be sneered, leered or laughed at", it treated its all-male lead characters in an exceedingly similar vein through their stereotypical tendencies towards violence. guided missile Houser, Rockstar Games co-founder, felt that the event team generally unnoted their portrayal of girls in grand larceny car games, however that {the we tend toight|the load|the burden} towards male characters "fit with the story we needed to tell".

Reception
Ever since 2001, the grand larceny car series has been a significant success, each critically and financially. it's generated excellent or close to excellent reviews and scores on the majority of the games; by September 2013, the series oversubscribed over one hundred fifty million copies worldwide, and as of August 2015, grand larceny car shipped over 220 million units worldwide. the days on-line according that grand larceny car IV recorded 609,000 copies within the UK on its initial day of unleash. In its initial week, grand larceny car IV oversubscribed more or less half dozen million copies worldwide and grossed over $500 million.

In 2006, grand larceny car was voted one among Britain's prime ten styles among Concorde, Red phonephone Boxes, Catseyes, The Underground, Mini, place Raider and also the World Wide internet.

The series has broken many records, leading to Guinness World Records subsidisation the series ten world records within the Gamer's Edition 2008. These records embody Most Guest Stars in an exceedingly computer game Series, Largest Voice solid in an exceedingly computer game (Grand larceny Auto: San Andreas), Largest In-Game audio recording (Grand larceny car: San Andreas) in addition as Most productive amusement Launch of All Time (Grand larceny Auto V). Guinness World Records conjointly hierarchal grand larceny car in third place on their list of prime fifty console games of all time supported initial impact and lasting bequest. grand larceny Auto: San Andreas is listed because the most productive game on the PlayStation a pair of in keeping with The Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition.

Grand Theft car III, San Andreas and Vice town presently lie at the ordinal, fifth and sixth highest rated PlayStation a pair of games on Metacritic, severally, whereas Chinatown Wars is rated the simplest game on the Nintendo DS and also the contender on the PlayStation moveable, and grand larceny car IV is presently rated the contender game ever, with a score of ninety eight, solely trailing behind The Legend of Zelda: wind instrument of your time. Also, Vice City, grand larceny car III, San Andreas and grand larceny car IV lie at eleventh, 24th, twenty seventh and 93rd best laptop games of all time, on Metacritic. along side this, The Lost and Damned and also the Ballad of Gay Tony square measure presently placed thirty fifth and 59th within the prime Xbox 360 games.